Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Hayesville quarterback Tate Roberts, No. 5, rolls out to pass as the Yellow Jackets attempt to rally against Eastern Randolph.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Hayesville gave a championship effort in the second round of the Class 1-A playoffs Friday, but couldn’t overcome Eastern Randolph’s size, speed and swagger.
The No. 14 seed Yellow Jackets, 7-5, endured a five-hour bus ride prior to two hours of trash-talking, late hits, blocking and shoving after the whistle and there’s no denying superior talent as No. 3 seed Eastern Randolph, 11-1, ended Hayesville’s super season, 39-10.
The Wildcats were simply too big, too fast and not exactly dirty, but too aggressive, for lack of a better word.
Hayesville Coach Chad McClure let the officiating crew know that he felt the Wildcats were a bit overzealous, but his opinion didn’t seem to result in increased policing by the refs.
“It’s a playoff game. It was very intense and both teams were pretty salty,” McClure remarked. “A lot of things were going on early that I felt should have been addressed. If they had been addressed early, other things wouldn’t have happened later. We didn’t back down.” Hayesville’s spunk was evident from the get-go.
“I felt like we did some good things early. On their first possession, we made them punt, and in all the film we watched we only saw them punt once,” McClure said.
That defensive stand was a small victory. The Wildcats’ high-octane offense lifted off the launch pad soon enough.
“Our effort was good. We played hard, we just got beat by a better team,” McClure stated. “Eastern Randolph is a good team. Really good. They’re playing in a 1A/2A and they’re the only 1A. They won their conference.”
Hayesville needed all hands on deck to have any chance of upsetting the hosts. That was impossible after star linebacker Taylor McClure reinjured his shoulder.
“Taylor went out early in the second quarter. He got blocked and went down and the big kid landed on his shoulder. He was playing pretty good defensively,” McClure recalled.
Hayesville’s coach praised Michael Colandrea for “stepping in and doing a good job” after Hit-and-Run McClure was sidelined after an examination by Dr. Travis Williams, but the Yellow Jackets missed their leading tackler and bullish ball-carrier.
The Wildcats scored twice before Hayesville got on the scoreboard.
“We were down 13-0. We drove down and got close to a first down. We had some momentum and had fourth-and-1, but we were called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that moved us back. It was like fourth-and-16, so we decided to kick a field goal.”
Isaac Chandler came through with his seventh field goal of the season, this one from 32 yards out.
The Hayesville braintrust spent halftime discussing how to cut into Eastern Randolph’s 19-3 lead.
“At halftime, it was still a two-score (two touchdowns with a pair of two-point conversions) game,” McClure said. “We wanted to come out and get a drive going right away.”
Hayesville did drive the ball, but Eastern Randolph led 25-3 by the time the Jackets made real noise.
Tre Graves was the catalyst. The soph with pop lit the fuse with a 14-yard kickoff return, then motored 19 yards on a perfectly-timed option pitch from Tate Roberts. An unsportsmanlike penalty on Eastern Randolph, that resulted in the ejection of linebacker Alex Nielsen, advanced the ball to midfield. Graves then broke off a 22-yard run for first down.
The promising drive stalled when Roberts was dropped for a 1-yard loss, the Jackets were flagged for 15 yards and two long passes fell incomplete as the Wildcats double-teamed Chandler and Michael Mauney, who made his fourth interception of the season earlier.
Hayesville barked again early in the fourth period after Eastern Randolph extended its lead to 31-3.
Following a short kickoff, Roberts boogied for 31 yards to advance the pigskin to the Wildcat 27. Cole Vining then exploded 27 yards into the end zone. Chandler’s kick cut the gap to 31-10.
“We had some success moving the ball. Cole and Tre ran the ball really well. Their defensive line and linebackers are really good,” McClure said.
Eastern Randolph came right back with another touchdown on four straight running plays, the first two gains for 15 and 27 yards, respectively. A two-pointer established the final score at 39-10.
Both teams finished the game with reserves.
Afterward, McClure told his players they had nothing to be ashamed of and expressed his appreciation for dedication and commitment that earned Hayesville a second consecutive season above .500.
“I’m proud of the kids and our staff. They put in the work in the early spring, the summer and throughout the season,” McClure said. “They’re a great group of kids. They always gave their best effort. This was one of the more enjoyable seasons I’ve had. Most of the time we were out-sized.”
McClure and his staff will continue to build a winning program next year, but will do so without graduating seniors Chandler, Nathaniel Dockery, Maverick Imlay, Jacob Jones, Seth Leek, Taylor McClure, Ethan McGuffie, Lane O’Dell, Dante Robinson, and Lewis Rutledge.
Eastern Randolph hosts Thomasville, 9-3, in the third round of the playoffs Friday.